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* Audience participation: During tests in the
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GLC ROYAL FESTIVALHALL
London SE1 8XX
Monday 18th March 1985
at 7.30 pm
Verdi
Requiem
Jo Ann Pickens
Jean Rigby
Stuart Kale
Donnie Ray Albert
Goldsmiths Choral Union
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra
Brian Wright conductor
Promoted by Goldsmiths Choral Union
Concert Management:
Norman McCann International Artists Ltd
Telephone: 01-930 5240
Programme: 50p
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi was born on October 10th,
1813, in the village of Le Roncole in
northern Italy, where his parents ran the
local inn. He was taught to read by the local
priest and learnt music from the village
organist. He showed an early aptitude for
music and when he was eight his father
bought him a spinet. At the age of ten Verdi
went to school in the neighbouring town of
Busseto, where he got to know the founder
of the Philharmonic Society. He studied
with the director of the society and by the
age of sixteen was often deputising for him
at church, as well as playing in his own
village and beginning to compose. Verdi
was sent to study in Milan, but being
rejected by the Conservatory, went to study
for three years under the director of La
Scala. Later he returned to his home town
as Director of the Philharmonic Society and
the church and married a local girl. In
November 1839 his first opera, Oberto,
Conte di San Bonifacio was performed at
La Scala. It was such a success that the
impressario Merelli contracted him to write
three more. But after this successful start,
Verdi’s life went sour. His first two children
died less than a year old, and in June 1840
his wife Margherita herself died.
Heartbroken, Verdi returned home from
Milan. Two months later his new opera Un
Giorno di Regno was hissed by the public
and damned by the critics. Verdi said then
that he would never compose again.
However, a chance meeting with Merelli
enabled the latter to persuade Verdi to
change his mind and set to music a libretto
by Solera. The resulting opera, Nabucco,
first performed in March 1842, was a
resounding triumph. As Verdi himself said,
“With this opera my artistic career may be
said to have begun”. His identification with
Italian nationalism had also begun as the
Milanese audience identified with the
oppressed Jews under the Babylonian rule
of Nebuchadnezzar. Verdi’s next opera,
/ Lombardi, was more overtly nationalist, with
the Saracens — against whom the crusading
Lombards defended the Holy Land — being
readily identified with the ruling Austrians. At
the first night, in February 1843, the response
was so enthusiastic that the police were
powerless to prevent encores - forbidden
because of their potential as nationalist
demonstrations. After Nabucco Verdi always
had as many commissions as he wanted,
and the ensuing period was highly
productive. He wrote Ernani, | Due Foscari,
Giovanna d’Arce, Alzira and Macbeth, his
greatest success to date.
After the toppling of King Louis Philippe in
France in 1848 the republican movementin
Italy took heart. Venice declared itself a
Republic, and barricades went up in Milan,
although the city’s leaders, much to Verdi's
annoyance, refused either to declare a
Republic or be annexed to Piedmont. In
response to the new mood, Verdi wrote the
nationalist opera, La Battaglia di Legnano
which was greeted with wild enthusiasm
when it was performed in Rome in January
1849, shortly before Rome was declared a
Republic.
It was his next opera which marked a
turning-pointin his career. Rigoletto, first
performed in Venice in March 1851, was a
new departure. Verdi broke new ground,
especially in the Third Act, by abandoning
the operatic tradition of set pieces linked by
recitative, and making the scene as a whole,
rather than the aria, the most important
musical unit. Rigoletto was a triumph, and
Rossini said that “in this music | at last
recognise Verdi's genius”. Verdi followed
this with more big successes, notably
/l Trovatore and La Traviata, as well as The
Sicilian Vespers, Simon Boccanegra and Un
Ballo in Maschera. When Parma voted in a
plebiscite for union with Piedmont, Verdi
was elected by his home town, Busseto, as
its delegate to the Assembly. He was also
elected to the new ltalian parliament, but,
although he remained a member until 1865,
he took little part, concentrating instead on
his writing. Forza del Destino was well
received at its premiére in St. Petersburg in
November 1862, although Don Carlos, first
performed in 1867, was not so successful.
From now on, however, Verdi became
increasingly depressed at the death of many
of his old friends and collaborators. In
—
November 1868 Rossini died, and Verdi was
angry at the failure of his efforts to organise a
Requiem Mass made up of contributions
from various composers. He nevertheless
went on writing, and on Christmas Eve 1871
Alda was first performed at the new Cairo
Opera House. It was in this period that Verdi
wrote his Aequiem Mass. He also produced
Otello and his last, and only truly comic
opera, Falstaff which was performed at La
Scala in February 1893. After that Verdi
wrote little. His health declined towards the
end of 1897, and he died on January 1901.
In his attitude to life Verdi was essentially
negative. In a letter to the Countess Maffei
after the premiére of // Trovatore in January
1853, he wrote: “People say the opera is too
sad, and that there are too many deaths in it.
But, after all, death is all there is in life. What
else is there?” There is something
paradoxical in this because Verdi, unlike
many other great musicians, had many
advantages — notably recognition and
adulation in his own lifetime — early enough
to allow him to enjoy the material fruits of his
success and to compose free from financial
constraints. Part of the reason for his gloomy
outlook almost certainly lay in the premature
death of his first wife and their two children.
In later life, the death of so many friends and
collaborators undoubtedly deeply affected
him, so much so that by 1883 he was able to
write, “My years are really beginning to be
too many, I think ... life is such a stupid thing,
and, what is worse, a pointless thing. What
do we do? What shall we do? Taking it all
together, there is only one answer,
humiliating, and extremely sad: NOTHING!”
But Verdi’s music, even when at its most
tragic, belies that sentiment.
Requiem Mass
Verdi was not a religious man. As his last
librettist, Boito, wrote of him, “He lost his
belief early, like all of us, but he retained,
more than the rest of us perhaps, a regret
for it all his life.” Although he wrote little
sacred music, Verdi was on two occasio
moved by specific events to set to music
ns
the words of the Requiem Mass. The first
time was on the death of Rossini in 1868.
Verdi arranged for various composers to
write sections of the Mass and, although
the intended performance in Rossini’s
native Bologna never took place becaus
the failure to find a suitable chorus or
e of
orchestra, the Mass was written and Verdi's
contribution to it was the final movement,
the “Libera Me”. The second occasion was
the death in May 1873 of the Italian poet
and novelist, Alessandro Manzoni, whom
Verdi revered and whose death affected
him so much he could not bring himself to
attend the funeral. He did, however,
persuade the Mayor and Council of Milan
pay for the first performance of a Requie
Mass which he would compose. He had
course already written a “Libera Me”,
to
m
of
which
itself contained themes for the opening
movement and the “Dies Irae”. This
earlier
composition found its way into the new
Mass, which was first performed in the
Church of San Marco in Milan on the
first
anniversary of Manzoni’s death, on
May
22nd, 1874. The scale of the work is such
that it is undoubtedly better suited to the
concert hall than the church, but it
would
be wrong to infer from its large scale and
operatic character any lack of sinceri
ty on
Verdi’s part. As his second wife, Giuseppina
Strepponi, said, “ say that a man like Verdi
must write like Verdi, that is, accord
ing to
his own way of feeling and interpreting the
text”. The result is a work whose power
popularity have never faded.
and
Text of the Mass
Requiem & Kyrie
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine
et lux perpetua luceat eis, Te decet
hymnus, Deus, in Sion et tibi reddetur
votum in Jerusalem. Exaudi orationem
meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison.
Dies Irae
Dies irae, dies illa,
solvet saeclum in favilla
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
Grant them, Lord, eternal rest and may
perpetual light shine upon them.
Thou O God art praised in Sion and
unto Thee shall the vow be performed
in Jerusalem: O hear my prayer,
unto Thee shall all flesh come.
Lord have mercy upon us
Christ have mercy upon us
Lord have mercy upon us.
Day of wrath and doom impending,
David’s word with Sibyl’s blending:
Heaven and earth in ashes ending.
Oh, what fear man’s bosom rendeth,
quando judex est venturus,
When from heaven the judge descendeth,
Tuba mirum spargens sonum
Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth,
Through earth’s sepulchres it ringeth,
All before the throne it bringeth.
cuncta stricte discussurus!
per sepulchra regionum
coget omnes ante thronum.
Mors stupebit et natura
cum resurget creatura
judicanti responsura.
Liber scriptus proferetur
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit:
nil inultum remanebit.
On whose sentence all dependeth!
Death is struck, and nature quaking,
All creation is awaking,
To its judge an answer making.
Lo! the book exactly worded,
Wherein all hath been recorded,
Thence shall judgement be awarded.
When the judge his seat attaineth,
And each hidden dead arraigneth,
Nothing unavenged remaineth.
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
What shall |, frail man, be pleading?
cum vix justus sit securus?
When the just are mercy needing?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
Who for me be interceding,
Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis:
salva me, fons pietatis.
King of majesty tremendous,
Who does free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us.
Recordare, Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuae viae:
ne me perdas illa die.
Quaerens me, sedisti lassus,
redemisti crucem passus,
tantus labor non sit cassus.
Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.
Think, kind Jesus, my salvation
Cause Thy wondrous Incarnation:
Leave me not to reprobation.
Faint and weary Thou hast sought me:
On the Cross of suffering bought me:
Shall such grace be vainly brought me?
Righteous judge, for sin’s pollution
Grant Thy gift of absolution
Ere that day of retribution.
Ingemisco tamquam reus,
culpa rubet vultus meus,
supplicanti parce, Deus.
Qui Mariam absolvisti
et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.
Preces meae non suntdignae
sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.
Inter oves locum praesta,
et ab haedis me sequestra,
statuens in parte dextra.
Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis
voca me cum benedictis.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis,
gere curam mei finis.
Lacrymosa dies illa
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus.
Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem.
Amen.
Guilty, now | pour my moaning:
All my shame with anguish owning:
Spare, O God, Thy suppliant groaning.
Through the sinful Mary shriven,
Through the dying thief forgiven,
Thou to me a hope hast given.
Worthless are my prayers and sighing:
Yet, good Lord, in grace complying:
Rescue me from fires undying.
With Thy sheep a place provide me,
From the goats afar divide me,
To Thy right hand do Thou guide me.
When the wicked are confounded,
Doomed to flames of woe unbounded:
Call me, with Thy Saints surrounded.
Low I kneel, with heart submission,
See, like ashes, my contrition:
Help me in my last condition.
Ah! that day of tears and mourning,
From the dust of earth returning,
Man for judgement must prepare him.
Spare, O God, in mercy spare him.
Lord, all-pitying, Jesus blest,
Grant them Thine eternal rest.
Amen.
Domine Jesu (Offertorium)
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae
libera animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum,
de poenis inferni et de profundo
lacu: libera eas de ore leonis, ne
absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant
in obscurum. Sed signifer sanctus
Michael repraesentet eas in lucem
sanctam, quam olim Abrahae
O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
deliver the souls of all the faithful
departed from the pains of hell and
from the deep pit: deliver them from
the jaws of the lion, lest they fall
into the darkness and the black gulf
swallow them up. But let Thy
standardbearer, blessed Michael, bring
them into that holy light, which of old
promisisti et semini ejus.
thou didst promise to Abraham and his seed.
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine,
We offer unto Thee, O Lord, this
laudis offerimus Tu suscipe pro
animabus illis quarum hodie
memoriam facimus: fac eas, Domine,
de morte transire ad vitam quam olim
Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.
sacrifice of prayer and praise; do Thou
receive it on behalf of the souls of
those whose memory we this day
recall: make them, O Lord, to pass
from death unto life which of old Thou
didst promise to Abraham and his seed.
Libera animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum de poenis inferni,
fac eas, de morte transire ad vitam.
Deliver the sou!s of all the faithful
departed from the pains of hell; make
them to pass from death unto life.
Sanctus
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus,
Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et
terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venitin nomine Domini.
Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata
mundi, dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata
mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Lux Aeterna
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts,
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord.
O Lamb of God that takest away the
sins of the world, grantthem rest.
O Lamb of God that takest away the
sins of the world, grant them eternal rest.
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
Light eternal shine upon them, O Lord.
with Thy Saints for ever, because Thou
pius es.
art gracious.
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis cum
Sanctis tuis in
aeternum, quia pius es.
Libera Me
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna
in die illa tremenda, quando coeli
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
with Thy Saints for ever, because Thou
art gracious.
Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death
movendi sunt et terra,
in that awful day, when the heavens
and the earth shall be shaken,
when Thou shalt come to judge the
per ignem.
world by fire.
dum veneris judicare saeculum
Tremens factus sum ego et timeo,
dum discussio venerit atque ventura ira:
quando coeli movendi sunt et terra.
Dies irae, dies illa, calamitatis
et miseriae, dies magna at amara
valde.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
| am seized by fear and trembling
until the trial shall be at hand, and
the wrath to come: when the
heavens and earth shall be shaken.
That day, a day of wrath, of calamity
and of misery, a great day and
exceeding bitter.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
GOLDSMITHS CHORAL UNION
Patrons: Sir Charles Groves CBE;
the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths
Musical Director: Brian Wright
FORTHCOMING CONCERTS, 1985
-
Saturday 18 May
Tippett: A Child of Our Time
at7.30
National Centre for Orchestral Studies
Goldsmiths College
Orchestra
Tuesday 8 October
Handel: Israel in Egypt
at 7.45
Musicians of London
Barbican Centre
Sunday 8 December
Carols for Choir and Audience
at 3.15 and 7.30
Royal Festival Hall
Wednesday 18 December
Carols for Save the Children
at 7.00
Royal Albert Hall
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Programme notes: © Sam Younger
Programme production: Kathy Johnston
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